Lambert summary

Darrin Gailey

Designing in Digital:  Distribution, Ethics, and the Politics of Engagement

                  Summary:

This chapter debates the development and issue of ethics in the world of digital storytelling. In the beginning, ethics in mass media wasn’t an issue due to a small amount of participation, however, today ethics is a problem due to so many are contributors in visual media. through self-awareness, one may participate in ethics.

Main Points:

-        Ethics Framework-creating a outline of work to influence.

-        Publication-is it private or public?

-        CDS-workshops for expression through digital storytelling.

-        Genie Stays in the bottle- sharing the digital media created is up to the creator. This is not to be influenced by CDS which was created to be an outlet

Example:

A really good example would have to be Allison Myers’. The challenge in helping communicate a story was useful because it allows us to see how difficult it is in sharing these stories.

Response:

Lambert deals with ethics as a private and public matter, which I agree is a good way to think about it. I agree with the author that when telling stories through digital media, or stories in general, that ethics are extremely important. The only thing I wonder is at what stage/age does ethics start to matter to us, when do we learn them?

Donoghue Summary

Darrin Gailey

Digital Creativity

Chen

Donal O’Donoghue

Summary:

This article is generally about paying close attention to artists’ work and practices and how that invites people to imagine different ways to conduct investigations. A good way to do this is through collaborative inquiry.

Main Points:

            - Paying close attention to work invites new ways to conduct inquiries.

            - There are many different qualities that artists’ use in production of work.

- Visual researchers might find it beneficial to understand new ways in which information is shared through visual means.

- Collaborative inquiry; different multiple strategies through different disciplines.

Example:

A good example from this essay is perhaps Presentation Sisters. I feel as though that this is a good example because of the commitment and attention paid to the embracement of different inquiries. Dean was committed to these different situations she found herself in:  engaged in effortful observation, embraced uncertainty, risked ambiguity, and was not afraid of not knowing.

Response:

For me this was an all right article. O’Donoghue, I felt, was a little bit repetitive. I would have liked a little more variety throughout the article. I did, however, find the three examples throughout the essay informative. I also think that it is important to pay close attention to artists’ work and practices. By doing that, it helps people to imagine different ways to conduct investigations.

Ethics in Visual Research

Darrin Gailey

Digital Creativity

Chen

Ethics in Visual Research

Summary:

This reading is about the ethical considerations, which are important to all parts of research—including visual research. There are certain principles that should be applied to all research. There is also a visual coding system used for the specific book this reading originates from.

Main Points:

            -General ethical considerations

            -Contextual issues

            -Using the Internet ethically

Example:

I thought that it was very informative about the regulatory and social environment in the region and/or country in which you work. It is really important to know and understand the ethical standards of where you live. They’re not the same everywhere (pg 10).

Response:

This article contains a lot of really good information that everyone should know. I agree with almost everything in this chapter. Ethical issues are relevant to everyone, not just few. I did, however, find that the information held within the article was a little bit dry which made it hard to read.

Chung Summary

Jessica Cordes, Darrin Gailey, Matthew Anderson

Chung, “Art education technology: Digital storytelling”

                  Summary:

The article examines the role of digital storytelling in the classroom. It is presented as a critical tool for helping students understand, be critical, and make meaning of their world. It gives a general background about how it came about, then discusses different classroom approaches. Students should first explore ideas, then create a script and storyboard before producing it.

Main Points:

-        In a time when multidisciplinary education is being stressed, digital storytelling is very fitting for students to explore many different disciplines and dimensions of creating.

-        Digital storytelling, a process of presenting stories through digital technology, is credited to Dana Atchley and the Center for Digital Storytelling in California.

-        It is important to be aware and respectful of ownership rights, copyright laws, etc.

-        Students should start by exploring topic ideas.

-        The script is prepared by asking questions about the story.

-        Storyboarding is a process of visualizing, like a blueprint for the story.

-        Production is the next phase, and it entails using multimedia programs to actually create the story.

-        Work should be evaluated based on instructor’s expectations regarding the formal and conceptual elements of the story.

-        Critique enables students to participate in a meaningful discussion about their work.

Example:

Jerita’s digital story, as described in the last section before the conclusion, asks about the benefits of art education by interviewing faculty, particularly the principal. Her classmates thought it was a productive way to advocate for art education. This was a good way to use digital media to promote an idea.

Response:

This article was very informative in terms of step-by-step preparation that students should take to learn and understand the process of digital storytelling. Through digital storytelling, students develop and apply multi-literacy skills to their work and their thinking about the world. It raised a lot of questions about the digital age, digital technology in the art world and the role that they play together not only for students, but for the community at large. It was curious how the article, published in 2007, included specific computer programs that may be obsolete even today.

Spurgeon Summary

Jessica Cordes, Darrin Gailey, Matthew Anderson

Spurgeon, “Co-creative media…”

                  Summary:

The article attempts to define and put digital storytelling into its current context, advocating for its use by all ages of people. The article also defines participatory medium in relationship to digital storytelling. The article describes three experiments or studies that support the authors’ view of digital storytelling. The participants of the studies vary in age and there are also differences in the purpose for being a part of the study (personal, educational, commercial reasons).

Main Points:

-        Digital storytelling is a social activity accessible to everyone.

-        Digital storytelling is effective as activist art, especially when articulating voices of marginalized, disadvantaged groups, or overlooked stories.

-        Co-creative media is the tool for the facilitation of participatory media such as digital storytelling.

-        Participation in social critique is limited by social structures and divides. Marginalized groups or people in low infrastructure areas do not have as many opportunities to participate.

-        Digital storytelling is particularly useful for commercial agendas (economic and social).

Example:

The first experiment, titled “Engaging Young People,” is the best example of the points the authors are trying to illustrate about digital storytelling, because they deal specifically with “at risk” youth and the issues and critiques that are the most relevant to them. The other two experiments or studies do more to raise questions critiquing their views than support them.

Response:

In the second “experiment,” some participants felt that the structure of the workshop centered too much on computer production. They did not have the time or means, and especially motivation, to learn the computer programs and applications, and felt that their stories were better told through oral interviews and artifacts such as photographs. Assistants then translated these interviews and artifacts into a digital story. This leaves me wondering; to what extent is digital storytelling necessary to the story? Are some stories better told by other means? Does computer technology really help to advance participation for marginalized groups if these people are uninterested in learning the technology or do not have access to education about the technology? These are all questions I felt were not developed by the article.